
- 15 minutes: Mini-lesson at the carpet
- 10 minutes: “Quiet 10” (I’ll explain this in-depth below)
- 25 minutes: Work on Writing at their desk, Peer-Editing and Conferences with me (I’ll explain this in-depth below)
- 10 minutes: Author’s Chair (I’ll explain this in-depth below)
- I told students to come to the carpet with a pencil and something hard to write on.
- I told them to sit on their “something hard to write on” and their pencil and to close their eyes as I read them a few pages of the book Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson.
- After I read the first few pages, I gave them each a piece of paper and told the students to illustrate what they thought the setting looked like based on the details from the text.
- The illustration from the book showed a cave, a tree, a bear and a few other animals. The students were spot on with their own sketches based on the details the author used in the text. The students recognized the importance of details and the use of imagery in their writing when describing a setting of their story.
- The students came to the carpet and saw the purple writing on the anchor chart.
- First, I modeled how to insert key details about the setting described in these few sentences.
- Then, I had a second anchor chart with a similar “boring” story. Together as a class, the students helped me edit to add juicy details to bring life to the setting of this story.
- The students assembled at the carpet and I read to them several pages of Island Baby by Holly Keller.
- The students listed details from the text about the setting.
- Then, I labeled the details about the setting to represent the 5 senses.
During Quiet 10, students were to take back what they learned during the mini-lesson and apply it to their own writings. This is the only time they could use an ink pen during writing class.
The “MUSTS” of Quiet 10:
- The students must stay in their seat and be writing the whole time.
- The students must stay quiet and focused on their writings.
- The teacher must also be writing while the students are writing.
- The teacher must play some type of music (I just had a classical music CD that I played everyday during Quiet 10).
I loved this example of how a student added more details to her setting.
She added details about “red punch” and “people dancing to the jazz music”.
Their edits are noted by using ink pens.
After Quiet 10 ends, the students do 1 of 3 things:
- Peer Edit their writings with a buddy
- I had pre-determined who would be their Peer Editing Buddy.
- Students would use a pencil while peer editing with their friends.
- Conference with me at the back table about their writings.
- I would keep a journal and calendar of who I wanted to meet with for conferencing, and how each student was progressing. This was great for RTI data and parent conferences.
- Continuing to write on their own independently at their desk.
Students would sign up to meet with me at the back table. Once I called their name, they would go to this tiny board and erase their name, and another student would fill their spot.
When coming to me to conference, the students would sometimes have an idea of what they wanted to conference about, and sometimes they wouldn’t. Either way, I would always take it back to skills that they needed to improve on and the skill we were working on during the mini-lessons.
I would keep a calendar of who all I’d met with during the week and who I wanted to meet with the following week. You will always have that one kid that wants to meet with you in conferences everyday. However, that just can’t be the case. Each conference should only last 5-8 minutes.
I’d just jot down simple notes about the story I helped them edit and the skills we worked on that day.
After doing this for a year, I loved it. I was hooked. I’ll never teach writing any other way.
I also created a resource that helped me and my students stay better organized during WW! Plus, it just looked a lot cuter! {Which of course is the most important thing!}
It has everything YOU need to conduct WW:
- Individual conference forms
- Conference Calendars
- Author’s Chair Share Calendars
- CCSS Writing Checklist for 3rd-5th Grades
- Ideas and directions on how to conduct WW in your classroom
- 3 different binder covers to choose from
- Conference note sheet
- Table of Contents for published pieces
- Mini Graphic Organizer Anchor Charts
- “Spicy Words” Mini Anchor Charts
- “Juicy Color Words” Mini Anchor Charts
- Grammar Mini Anchor Charts


I hope this helps you implement WW in your classroom this school year!
What do you do to make your WW successful?